THE PETITION CRAZE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 195, 16 August 1907, Page 7

THE PETITION CRAZE.

REMARKS BY MINISTER. ": jPj Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. The youngest Parliamentary represenfetive soon finds out that much of his political reputation depends upon his success in keeping before the notice of jphe Government in the most vigorous and > j>exsistent manner a large batch pi demands for Government grants. Often these demands take the form of petitions ftp the House, and according to members ,-fcf tlie Ministry this system of attempting feo secure allocations from the Public SVorks Fund has now reached formidable 'dimensions. The Hon. J. A- JSlillar deemed it necessary to refer pointedly in the House yesterday to this fresh phase bf the political game. He said that.mem-

bers were trying through the Public Peti- ; tions Committee to get the Government . to commit itself to public expenditure. •"Everyone knew that wherL a committee 1 «gmpiy reported a petition for!"the eon--feitieratioii of the-' -it" meant toothing at all —why not tell their eon.'stituenis straight out "We've no re • pammendation to make?" iiz. 3fander interjected that people need not petition at all in that event, and the Minister -went on to declare that Jf-'the system, was to be continued, the sooner Parliament set up a Public Works Committee the better. It would be a * jnneh jnoxa iononrable course to refuse to make xecommendations than to-fool petitioners by referrng the matter to the consideration of the GoT'ernment, which, f-.itbey knew, meant nothing at aIL Knally, Bfr. said everyone knew that the _ s?iih}ic Works Estimates were practically the Htm. R. McSab also referred to the .jpefcrfadn craze,. giving a "bit of advice by ! i tening iis heaxexs that a word from a SEmhex to a did more to for- ; "said- the desires of petitions than by i= .going '■through the long iorraula of petitioning.

. ._ The added "hig opinions to the expresaans. It would, he laid, reqnire two or three Tniilifing sterling if all the demands of petitions were j Jle showed the absurdity of es> ; -'psntrng -the GoTrerament to shape its pub- • :.'£e;wcn±s policy bj petition. • ;. "TPhat is the alternative 3" asked Mr. .--Hfike, to which Sir J. Ward answered: ' ;5 3Je,jalterna±iTe is to keep the colony's JoaitJan soxmd by not borrowing too , ~iiuH*h money, fay giving a fair proportion of tlv» moneys ayailable for exV paditare to the -different parts-of the ._ . c&ntry." The Premier informed the ■Eoose that it takes two .or three Afi-ms-teis "hours and hcrnrs" of time to go ■%&ron<£i petitions submitted for the Go--iltiiuuent's consideration.